But Jankovic (1-1) remains very much alive for a spot in this weekend's semifinals when she faces No. 7 Sara Errani of Italy (0-2) on Friday in her final round-robin match.

More important, the former No. 1 is once again in the mix of elite players where she feels she belongs.

"Who cares?" she laughed when asked about her poor record against top-four players after knocking off reigning Australian Open champ Azarenka. "I don't care, so you guys shouldn't either."

Back at the eight-player event for the first time since 2010, Jankovic has been a beacon of good cheer (and longwinded answers) amid the typically weary faces and grousing about motivational issues after a long season.

"First of all, I'm very happy that I was able to qualify and give myself a chance to play here in the championships," she said.

"I'm very excited," she added. "You know, so far I have fun on the court. I enjoy the Turkish crowd, and I think it's an amazing experience and amazing atmosphere. So it doesn't get better than this."

Jankovic's fifth appearance at the year-end finale looked like a long shot earlier this year.

After finishing in the top 10 from 2007-2010 and claiming the year-end No. 1 in 2008, Jankovic fell to No. 22 last year. Her woes continued at the start of the 2013 season, and she was in danger of slipping out of the top 30 when she rehired her older brother, Marko Jankovic, to travel with her and oversee her training.

Marko's impact was almost instantaneous, and Jankovic defended her title at Bogota, Colombia, in February. It kick-started her comeback, revived her work ethic and boosted her flagging confidence.

According to Marko, his sister lost her way the last couple of seasons with a series of coaches and trainers that tried to bulk her up for more power, alter her strokes and even tweak her flowing and occasionally acrobatic movement, which ranks among the best in the game.

"It was ridiculous," Marko, 34, said Thursday. "She got confused."

"There was a time when I had a little bit of fear, where am I going, what direction am I going, what's the way to come back to find those keys to get back on track and be the player I can be again?" Jankovic said this week. "And those were the times when, you know, I kind of had to sit back and try to turn around a lot of the things."

Jankovic has cleared out the cobwebs and has posted a number of good results, including a quarterfinal showing at the French Open and fourth round at the U.S. Open. This month she reached the final of the top-level Beijing where she lost to No. 1 Serena Williams.

Marko predicted that not only would his sister stay in the top 10 in 2014 but also that she would return to the top five.

In discussing her game, Jankovic said aspects such as her serve and volleys have improved since she topped the women's game five years ago. Others, like her court coverage and mental toughness, have perhaps stalled or lagged.

The player with the killer down-the-line backhand never doubted she could return to cream-of-the-crop events like the WTA Championships, but even she was surprised to be here so soon.

"I believed that I was going to make it sometime in the future, but I didn't think it was going to be this year, because it's a long process," she said.

Li, who is 2-0 in round-robin play and in strong position to reach the knockout phase, said she was hardly astonished to see Jankovic back pushing top players.

"I mean, is really not surprise because she was former No. 1, so she has the level to be the top 10," the 2011 French Open champion said Thursday. "Maybe now she get more confident."

Jankovic probably wouldn't disagree. The smile on her face this week said it all.

"Overall I think I'm on the right track," she said, "which is the most important thing."

Serena Williams fires an autographed ball into the stands after defeating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. Williams finished 3-0 in round-robin play and advances to the semifinals.
Dean Mouhtaropoulos, Getty Images